Ex-UFC welterweight Rory Markham scores big with "Setup"

This gig is a lot different than his usual job strapping on four-ounce gloves and stepping inside a cage. But it’s a good different. He doesn’t have to cut weight or take any punches to the head. He doesn’t have to worry about being humiliated in the most visceral way possible.

Instead, he gets to emote. Pretend he is someone else (or bring out another part of himself). There is hair and makeup. There is violence, but it’s make believe.

There’s craft services.

Such is the life of a film actor, and Markham can see why guys like Randy Couture and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson put MMA on hold to step in front of the camera.

“It gives us a chance to explore,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “You don’t really get to explore when you’re an MMA fighter. You do your work, and then you get to explore one night in a fight.”

Acting is an adventure Markham has been pursuing since 18 when he took lessons in suburban Chicago while boxing at the amateur level. Now 28, he’s just completed filming a major role in “Setup” alongside Bruce Willis, 50 Cent, Ryan Phillipe and none other than “Captain America” himself, Couture.

This past August, he had a role in the psychological thriller “The Experiment” starring Adrien Brody and Forrest Whitaker.

He’s gotten to hang out and work with movie stars. He’s been pampered. They put his name five spots above Couture’s on the call sheet during his time on “Setup.”

He hasn’t fought in 10 months.

“It’s just an opportunity you have to take when it comes up because it will pay off for you for the rest of your life,” Markham said.

Thirty minutes after arriving on set of the heist movie in Grand Rapids, Mich., he found himself in a hallway with Phillipe getting ready to shoot. The star wanted him to improvise a bit from the script where the brothers rap about getting a chicken salad. Surreal.

He was told not to tell anybody he was a professional fighter when he auditioned for the role. Later, though, Phillipe asked him what else he’d done acting-wise, and he let the cat out of the bag. After some searching, Phillipe remembered him.

“I know that I’m a fighter first,” Markham said. “But I know that my career and my destiny is definitely going to end up in that realm.”

He’s trying to book a fight in late March or early April and is already in training. His future is in the hands of managers and promotions on that front.

His acting career, on the other hand, appears to be taking off.

“One thing I can say about acting that I can’t say about MMA at the moment is that it pays you when you’re not working,” Markham said. “If you were to do one stunt on X-Men, you’re first residual check would be around $100,000 for the first X-Men they did 10 years ago. My friend who did X-Men 10 years ago is still receiving roughly $20,000 quarterly from movies.”

Fighting in the cage also goes a long way in avoiding cold feet on set.

“I knew I wasn’t walking out in front of 20,000 people in my underwear getting ready to fight,” Markham said. “You’re never more exposed than at that moment.”

And as it turns out, all the training and game planning done in preparation for a fight bears a few similarities with those of acting. You make a rough sketch of what you’re going to do. You rehearse that. You prepare for an intense moment in the spotlight. Then, it’s time to shine.

One is real, and one is fake. One pays you for a night, and the other a possible lifetime. Markham likes his current adventure.

“I’ve found new solutions to problems in a fight, but maybe my fights last nine minutes,” he said. “At least I get to find solutions for new problems for six weeks on a set. I think that part of it for me, and I could probably say that for Quinton and Randy, that would attract them to the movie industry. It’s challenging.”

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